Click here to visit a guide to hundreds of financial links!
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By Richard Morochove
First published January 28, 1999
ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- That which doesn't kill you will make you stronger. That aptly describes how Lotus Development has adapted its Notes software to the Internet.
Notes is messaging and collaboration software that allows people to work better together. When it was first released, Notes defined a new category of software called groupware. Then the Internet hit.
Notes was caught by the Net like a fish out of water, using a proprietary system of sending E-mail that didn't work with popular public network. Some analysts predicted the death of Notes, saying it would be superceded by new applications that used Internet standards to enhance communications.
Lotus reacted by changing Notes so it swam with and not against the Internet tide, adding capabilities such as Internet messaging. The move paid off. According to Lotus, at the end of 1998 more than 34 million people used Notes, up from 20 million the previous year.
At its annual Lotusphere conference, held here last week, Lotus unveiled Release 5.0 of
Notes, which will ship in mid-February. Notes has been a perennial favourite of large
organizations such as the National Hockey League and automaker DaimlerChrysler. With this
new version, Lotus is moving downstream to enhance communications among individuals and
smaller outfits. 
The key is a new deal with America Online. Lotus' Sametime Connect real-time conversation program will now work with AOL's Instant Messenger service to communicate with the online service's 15 million members. Notes users will also be able to receive customized news and information using AOL's My News. Users will be able to choose from more than 2,000 news topics, including stock quotations and weather forecasts.
For the first time, Lotus Notes will come in a version for Linux, another indication of growing support for the open source operating system. However, unlike Linux, the source code of Notes will not be released to the public.
Lotus faces a different challenge with another of its programs. When you've reached version 9.1 of an application, what compelling features can you add? That's the conundrum with the program that built the company, the venerable 1-2-3 spreadsheet.
Years ago Lotus lagged in introducing a Windows version of the spreadsheet. When it was finally released it wasn't as feature-rich as Microsoft's Excel. That allowed Microsoft to leap ahead in spreadsheet market share and the Redmond, Washington-based company never looked back.
However, today's 1-2-3 is fully equal to Excel and surpasses it in some ways. To take just one example, the built-in voice recognition capabilities allow you to dictate information into a spreadsheet, filling out an expense report for example.
The latest version features greater integration with the Internet. For example, you can link a spreadsheet to a Web page and set it to update the link on a schedule you specify. If you have an investment portfolio, 1-2-3 can automatically retrieve the latest quotes from a Web page and update the value of your portfolio in a spreadsheet every 20 minutes.
1-2-3 is usually sold as part of SmartSuite, the bundle of office applications that includes a word processor (also with voice recognition capabilities), presentation graphics, database, address and appointment organizer, screen capture utility, a nifty menu system and a combination headset and microphone for voice recognition.
SmartSuite's newest component, FastSite, offers an easy way of publishing documents on the Internet. It does more than a simple conversion to HTML (hypertext markup language), the formatting used by the Web, but it's not quite up to a program like Microsoft's FrontPage, which offers complete website building capabilities.
Using FastSite you can publish a small website with spreadsheets or word processing documents without knowing anything of HTML or the commands needed for uploading pages using FTP (file transfer protocol). Last month Lotus introduced a standalone version of FastSite for MS Office users. During the first few weeks there were more than 5,000 downloads of a 30-day free trial version from the Lotus website.
Lotus plans to release a new version of SmartSuite a couple of months after Microsoft launches its latest suite, Office 2000, expected this Spring.
To avoid tipping its hand to the competition, Lotus will only hint at some of the new features. It will feature file compatibility with Office 2000, greater use of voice recognition and incremental software updates available over the Web.
A consumer backlash against Microsoft could breathe new life into SmartSuite sales. The package typically sells for about half the price of MS Office and its licensing terms are more generous. If you use SmartSuite at work, you can also use it on your home PC without paying extra. CW
Richard Morochove, FCA, is a Toronto-based computer consultant.
Copyright ©1999 by Morochove & Associates Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be copied or distributed by any means without our prior written permission.
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